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DoctorLaptop’s Tips #59 07Feb17

DoctorLaptop’s Tips #59 07Feb17
Keeping Up With Today’s Internet – Safe Email Practices
The world evolves and along with it the internet. New tech and threats require us to adopt new ways of doing things. Today I discuss email developments.
The “cloud” gets hacked regularly, as do email password lists. Power, internet outages, email server failures (and poor customer service for recovery, like Yahoo) and lost or stolen PCs can deny you access to cloud services. Thus, while convenient for storage, it alone is insufficient for securing valuable data. Here is how to protect yourself.
-Always back up copies of any valuable data or documents to an off-line storage device such as a Flash drive. Simply saving to the cloud and your computer/tablet/smartphone is not enough.
-Use a strong password with at least 12 characters including capitals and small letters plus numbers and punctuation marks. Change the password every 6 months. Never reuse a password on multiple sites.
-Don’t open attachments in unfamiliar emails. This should be a given by now, but email attachments are still a popular way to circulate malware.
-Don’t click on suspect links. If a link looks hidden, or if it comes from an unfamiliar source, don’t click it. It might take you to an unspecified location and possibly inject malware into your machine when you attempt to download the page. Be aware of any discrepancies in links that look mostly but not entirely familiar, such as “Amaz0n” instead of “Amazon,” and any shortened links.
-Avoid unsecured WiFi. Unsecured Wi-Fi like wifi cafe’s connections are open invitations to cybercriminals. They can gain public access to the system, and view any traffic you send or receive; which basically means they’ve gained access to your account.
-Avoid sending unnecessary personal information. One type of scam, phishing, involves goading a user to send personal login information, usually under the guise of a communication from an official but familiar company. As a general rule, it’s best to avoid sending any personal information over email (unless you absolutely have to).
Read more at: http://www.inc.com/larry-alton/email-security-in-2016-what-you-need-to-know.html